Well, it’s finally here! The first meal at the new apartment, complete with dinner guests. This recipe is from Real Simple magazine. It combines some of my favorite things: sweet potatoes, stir-fry, garlic, and hoisin sauce. Hoisin sauce is the Asian version of ketchup (it goes on everything!). Prepare the sauce first, then the stir fry.

For wine, I served Gewurtztraminer, which is as hard to pronounce as it is to spell (ga-VERZ-tra-mee-ner). This wine is fruity and lush, with a semi-sweet to almost medium-sweet taste. It is well known as one of the few wines that compliment Asian cuisine, particularly spicy dishes. Fetzer from California produces a great variety with a reasonable price: about $7-$9 a bottle.

To complete the dish, I prepared Vigo’s Saffron Yellow Rice to serve with the stir-fry. While normally I reserve this for Mexican dishes, but the flavor also goes well with Asian cuisine.

Garlicky Hoisin Sauce
from Real Simple

1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
3 green onions, white parts only, chopped (reserve green parts for stir-fry)
6 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
3/4 cup hoisin sauce
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
1 1/2 tbsp sugar

Heat a skillet or small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the oil and heat for 30 seconds. Add the scallions, garlic, and pepper flakes. Cook until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens slightly, about 1 1/2 minutes. Set aside and keep warm.

Garlicky Hoisin Beef
from Real Simple

2 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 lb flank or boneless sirloin steak, thinly sliced
1 red, orange, or yellow bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
1 medium sweet potato, peeled, halved lengthwise and sliced 1/4 inch thick
1/3 cup water
1/3 to 1/2 lb snow or sugar snap peas
3 scallions (green parts only, reserved from sauce), cut into 1 1/2 inch lengths
1 recipe Garlicky Hoisin Sauce
cooked rice or noodles, for serving

Heat a large skillet over high heat. Add 2 tbsp oil and heat for 30 seconds. Add the steak, working in batches if needed, and stir-fry until cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Reduce heat to medium-high, add remaining oil, scraping the bottom of the pan to loosen any browned bits, and add the bell pepper and cook, stirring constantly for 10-15 seconds.

Add the sweet potato and water, cover partially and cook for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are near tender. Add the peas and scallions, cook for 1 minute. Add the Garlicky Hoisin Sauce and increase the heat to high. When it starts to bubble, add steak back to the pan. Toss ingredients and heat until warmed through, about 1 minute. Serve immediately over rice or noodles.

A couple weeks ago, I bought over a pound of chicken breasts for $1.97 marked down because it was almost the “sell by” date. I promptly brought them home and popped them in the freezer. To take advantage of this purchase, I adapted a stir-fry recipe from Sunset magazine. This recipe combines a few simple ingredients to make a quick and easy sauce that tastes pretty darn good.

I added some vegetables to the recipe and reduced the amount of fresh basil (3 cups of basil leaves seems a little excessive to me). To round out the meal, I made some Vigo Saffron Yellow Rice. Despite the exotic sounding name, a bag of rice typically is $1.19 and usually I will take advantage of a 2 for 1 deal.

Above: Stir-fried chicken with snap peas served over saffron yellow rice.

Basil Chicken Stir-Fry
adapted from Sunset magazine

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 tbsp vegetable oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
salt and pepper
1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp soy sauce
4-5 springs of fresh basil leaves, torn
1/2 lb sugar snap peas (or vegetable of your choice)

Rinse chicken and pat dry. Cut into strips about 1/2 inch thick and 2 to 3 inches long. Season with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Saute garlic and ginger until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add chicken pieces and cook 3-4 minutes until just about cooked through and no longer pink.

Whisk together stock, cornstarch, and soy sauce. Pour into skillet and toss with chicken. Bring liquid to a simmer, reduce heat, and pour sugar snap peas over top. Cover skillet and allow peas to “steam” for 2-3 minutes.

Stir in basil until all ingredients are combined. Remove from heat and serve, over rice or noodles if preferred.

Above: All gone!

Economically Friendly: Get a good deal by purcahsing meat close to the sell by date and putting in the freezer as soon as you bring it home. Substitute any seasonal vegetable to save money, and the rest of the ingredients are pretty standard staples of the kitchen. I buy bouillon cubes for around a dollar so I can make a simple cup of broth without wasting an entire can. It is much more cost effective and tastes the same as far as I could tell. I did purchase extra basil for this recipe, otherwise I would have picked my basil plant clean.

Environmentally Friendly: Use seasonal, local produce (organic if possible). The basil I purchased was both local and organic from a nearby farm that sells products at the grocery store. This recipe makes a good size meal, but not a huge amount to where food would go to waste.

Excellently Healthy: Nothing to complain about here: chicken breast, vegetables, and natural flavor from garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes. Keep rice or noodle portions in check and this is a pretty healthy meal.

I know, I know. Beef is not good for the environment, but even I need a break from vegetarian cuisine. Plus, this was a deal at $2.40 almost a pound for pre-cut strips of beef and I had leftover BBQ sauce from the BBQ Chicken Stir-Fry. It starts with balance and small steps.

BBQ Beef Stir-Fry:
3/4 to 1 lb beef strips
8 oz sugar snap peas  
8 oz sliced mushrooms
1 onion, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup BBQ sauce (see below)

Heat oil in a large skillet and saute onions for 3-5 minutes over medium-high heat until soft. Set onions aside in a small bowl. Add mushrooms to skillet and saute 5-7 until almost soft and tender. Set aside in bowl with onions.

Add beef strips to skillet. Saute, without stirring, for 2 minutes. Add BBQ Sauce to pan, flip beef strips, scraping the bottom of the pan to loosen the brown bits. Bring BBQ Sauce to a simmer. Add onions and mushrooms back to pan and toss.  

Add sugar snap peas to top of BBQ mixture. Cover pan and allow sugar snap peas to steam for 3-5 minutes, then toss with sauce to combine. Serve any leftover sauce on the side for dipping.

BBQ Sauce:
3/4 cup ketchup
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp Dijon or spicy brown mustard 
3/4 tsp salt, divided 
1/2 tsp black pepper

In a small saucepan, combine ketchup, vinegar, brown sugar, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, 1/2 tsp salt, and pepper. Whisk together and set over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, and reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer sauce for 10-15 minutes, until it has reduce by half.

Economically Friendly:Leftover BBQ Sauce put to good use! Onions and mushrooms are inexpensive, but sugar snap peas can be pricey. Look for sales or substitute with seasonal produce. Beef can also be expensive, so look for items close to the sell-by date for a reduced price.

Environmentally Responsible: Yes, beef is bad. Very, very bad. But just like diets, if you make foods “bad” or “forbidden,” you will only want them more. Use less and use less often, and at least you will make a small difference. Compromise by using seasonal, locally grown produce and other planet-friendly ingredients.

Excellently Healthy: Look for lean cuts of beef, increase the amount of veggies, and serve with brown rice or another whole grain for a complete meal.

Originally, this recipe was based on Steamed Japanese Eggplant with Spicy Green Onion-Ginger Saucefrom Cooking Light magazine. My supermarket didn’t have Japanese eggplant, so I used domestic eggplant and either I do not like steamed eggplant, or I do not know how to steam eggplant. At any rate, James and I were not thrilled with the first attempt. We did, however, love the sauce, to which I had dressed up with some sesame seeds and balsamic vinegar.

Needless to say, there were plenty of leftovers.

In the spirit of Veganomics and not wasting food, I gave the leftovers another try. Instead of reheating in the microwave, I sauteed the leftovers with some fresh sugar snap peas and served it over quinoa with golden raisins. The results were fantastic! I am going to post the recipe as I would have made it the first time, sauteing the eggplant with snap peas instead of steaming. Add in the quinoa, and you have an entire meal.

Quinoa is a grain but has nutrients that make it more complete than rice or wheat, and is often used in vegan cooking as a substitute for meat. Preparation is easy, similar to couscous, using 1 cup water for every 1/2 cup quinoa and bringing to boil, then simmering for 10-15 minutes until the water is absorbed.

Spicy Sesame Eggplant & Snap Peas with Quinoa

1 cup uncooked quinoa
1 cup golden raisins  
1 eggplant (about 1 lb), cut into 3 inch x 1/2 inch pieces
3-4 green onions, green and white parts, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces 
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp sesame seeds
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 tsp roasted red chili paste
1 tsp sesame seed oil
3/4 lb (about 12 oz) sugar snap peas
bean sprouts (optional)

In a small bowl, whisk together soy sauce, rice vinegar, balsamic vinegar, chili paste, and sesame seed oil. Stir in green onions, sesame seeds, garlic, and ginger. Set sauce aside.

In a medium saucepan, combine quinoa with 2 cups water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes until water is absorbed and quinoa has softened. Remove from heat and stir in golden raisins.

Meanwhile, heat vegetable oil in a large skillet or wok. Add eggplant and saute 3-5 minutes. Add sesame seed sauce and toss to coat eggplant. Continue to saute until eggplant is near tender, about 5-7 minutes. Add sugar snap peas, tossing with eggplant and sauce, for 2-3 minutes until crisp-tender.

Serve eggplant and snap peas over quinoa, top with bean sprouts if desired.

Economically Friendly: Most of the recipe included ingredients I already have on hand, with the exception of the roasted red chili paste. It was a little pricy, but hopefully I find additional uses for it. Golden raisins are also a bit more expensive than regular, but I think the difference is worth the extra cost, and I already had a box in the pantry.

Ecologically Responsible: Sugar snap peas should still be in season, if not, other vegetables such as zucchini would work well too. Eggplant should be in season for most of the summer, making it easy to find locally grown produce. Quinoa has been used in other cultures for centuries, and is more nutritious than tradition grains like wheat, and is a good replacement for rice.

Excellently Healthy: Eggplant, sugar snap peas, quinoa, and golden raisins makes for a balanced meal. The flavor comes from soy sauce, ginger, garlic, chili paste, and vinegar, none of which are high in calories or fat. It tastes great, which is important, because making a healthy meal should still be delicious and satisfying!

Here is a simple sauce, perfect for tossing with pasta, veggies, and chicken. The recipe originally came from Simply in Season, was a few tweaks courtesy of Jenn. I added red onions, mushrooms, and chicken breasts to turn this into a full meal. Be careful not to overcook the sauce, it could start to solidify.

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
8 oz linguine pasta
1/2 lb sugar snap peas
2 tbsp butter
8 oz sliced mushrooms
1 small red onion, halved and sliced
1/2 cup green onions, chopped
1 1/2 tsp lemon zest
3 tbsp lemon juice
3/4 cup milk
2 eggs
1 tbsp fresh dill
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add pasta and cook 4 minutes. Add sugar snap peas and cook 2 minutes longer or until tender. Drain.

While pasta cooks, melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms, red and green onions, and lemon peel and saute 1 minute. Remove from heat and set aside.

Add chicken breasts to pan with lemon juice and turn heat to high. Cook about 3-5 minutes per side until cooked through.

Meanwhile, add onion mixture to pan with pasta and snap peas. Beat milk and eggs together and to pan. Cook over very low heat until mixture is slightly thick, do not boil. Stir in dill, salt, and nutmeg. Toss cooked chicken breasts with pasta. Serve immediately.